SAVANNAH — The bishops of the Atlanta Province gathered for their annual meeting June 27-29, this year held in Savannah, Ga. The Atlanta Province encompasses the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the four dioceses of Charlotte and Raleigh, Charleston, S.C., and Savannah.
"It's part of an identity of a province to periodically come together, to have an opportunity for fellowship, prayer, and for a little business that strengthens each of the local Churches," explained Archbishop Wilton Gregory.
"All of us, obviously, face many of the same pastoral challenges, and we need to support and affirm and encourage one another. Also, I think it's another indication that, as Pope Francis has said to the whole Church, we need to accompany each other. We need to move forward in faith together."
Their meeting was held at the Savannah diocese's new Catholic Pastoral Center, a former children's home opened by the Sisters of Mercy in 1938.
Pictured after Mass are (from left) Bishop Robert Guglielmone, Bishop of Charleston; Bishop Luis Zarama, Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta; Bishop David Talley, Auxiliary Bishop of Atlanta; Bishop J. Kevin Boland, Bishop Emeritus of Savannah; Archbishop Wilton Gregory, Archbishop of Atlanta; Bishop Gregory Hartmayer, OFM Conv., Bishop of Savannah; Bishop Michael Burbidge, Bishop of Raleigh; and Bishop Peter Jugis.
— Photo provided by Michael J. Johnson, The Southern Cross
SALISBURY — The Salisbury City Council recently approved a rezoning request for a wedding venue to be operated at the former Sacred Heart Church property.
The city council approved a plan June 21 to rezone the 1.5-acre property at 128 N. Fulton St. for a wedding venue called The Abbey.
The vote was the second approval by the city council, which OK'd the rezoning June 7 only after city planners and the property owner modified the plans in response to neighbors' concerns.
Lori and Michael Dienfenbach requested the rezoning so they could convert the property into a wedding venue. Along with furnishing the former church and other buildings on the property to serve as a wedding venue, they plan for a support services building that could include related businesses such as a florist or tuxedo rental store. Another of the buildings could be converted into a bed and breakfast in the future, they said.
The Salisbury-Rowan Convention and Visitors Bureau estimated that the 1,800 square feet of retail space could have an impact of $1.8 million on the local economy, Lori Dienfenbach said. The venue would also bring many out-of-town visitors into Salisbury.
But some neighbors and the Historic Salisbury Foundation had voiced worries about the noise, parking congestion, and businesses that might move into the support services building if the wedding venue were to fail.
The Dienfenbachs' proposal went through two council committee meetings and a Planning Board committee meeting, during which changes were made to the plans, including removal of a rooftop terrace.
The Refuge, a church that currently rents a building on the property, will also have to move before the plans for the wedding venue can move forward.
The Fulton Street property was the home of Sacred Heart Church from when it was built in 1940 until 2009, when Sacred Heart Church moved to its current 40-acre campus on Lumen Christi Lane, just off Jake Alexander Boule-vard.
— Amanda Raymond, Salisbury Post